“And he answered, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND; AND YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’” Luke 10:27 (NASB)

When you are sick, you go to the doctor, and if she finds an infection, she writes you a prescription. Guess what the doctor expects you to do while you are waiting to get better? Take the medicine.

She doesn’t expect you to read about the medicine. She doesn’t expect you to talk about the medicine. She doesn’t even expect you to understand what the medicine is or how it works. Just do what the doctor told you to do, and let the outcome present itself in time. When we take medicine, we wait for it to work. It is never instant.

But keep in mind, the longer you put off taking the medicine, the longer it will take to work. And, if you choose not to take the medicine at all, you can pretty much expect to remain sick.

Far too many Christians like to talk to other people about what God’s Word says we are to do in our lives. We like to think about His Word. But far too few will actually act on it.

And yet, God, the Great Physician, has prescribed what we need in His Word. Whether or not we follow what He has revealed — things like love, forgiveness, trust, faith, hope and more — will determine how long we wait. These are the things being developed within us on detours. These are the characteristics of Christ.

“So, what am I to obey?” you may be asking. You are to obey what you know. We are to obey what God has already revealed to us in His Word. You or I will never see what God plans to do in secret unless He sees us obeying what He has already revealed in public.

God never tells you everything at once. But, He has told you something. Whatever that is, obey it. However small, however insignificant it may seem — obey it. Do what you know to do even if you don’t know what it is doing.

If you still don’t know where to start, you can start with the simplest of all commandments to remember, but the most difficult to live out. It’s simple to remember because it basically boils down to one word: love. It’s difficult to live out because this one word contains the essence of all the other commandments we’ve ever been given.

It says: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself” (Luke 10:27).

One man who obeyed and loved well was Job. Job’s friends were not that friendly. In fact, when Job was at the worst of times, his friends judged, griped, criticized, accused and more. For Job, praying for his friends involved a lot more than asking God to bless them. It involved a significant amount of faith, forgiveness, acceptance, humility and love.

It wasn’t until after Job showed grace and kindness to those who had brought him pain that God restored him. This is because Job had obeyed the law of love and asked God to give His goodness to others.

Learning to wait well with patience involves learning how to put into practice the regularity of living as a child of God. It means putting into practice those things we already know.

• Forgiving



• Loving



• Believing



• Working as unto the Lord, even if it’s not your favorite place to work



• Honoring the authority over you, even if you don’t particularly like or respect that authority



• Bearing with one another’s burdens, even when you feel weighted down by your own

Do what God has already said to do. Then watch Him usher you straight out of your detour and into your destiny.

Heavenly Father, I want to love like You love, forgive like You forgive and honor You with my heart in every way. Mold me into the person You will take great pleasure in. Use me as a testimony of grace, kindness and love to those around me. I pray for a double portion of favor and blessing in my life, God, and ask You to give me wisdom on how to set myself up for just that. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

***

TRUTH FOR TODAY:

Galatians 5:14, “For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’” (NASB)

Psalm 27:14, “Wait for the LORD; Be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the LORD.” (NASB)

RELATED RESOURCES:

How do you find the destiny God has designed for your life? How can you make the most of the detours God has planned for you? Learn how detours are designed for our own good, regardless of how we view or feel about them. Get your copy of Detours: The Unpredictable Path to Your Destiny by Dr. Tony Evans today.

CONNECT:

Enter to WIN a copy of Detours by Dr. Tony Evans. In celebration of this book, Dr. Evans’ ministry, The Urban Alternative, is giving away 5 copies! Enter to win by leaving a comment here. {We'll randomly select 5 winners and email notifications to each one by Monday, February 13, 2017.}

REFLECT AND RESPOND:

In what area is God asking you to wait and trust Him for His leading and timing?

How is God asking you to obey Him in your current detour?

© 2017 by Dr. Tony Evans. All rights reserved.

Proverbs 31 Ministries thanks The Urban Alternative for their sponsorship of today's devotion.

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